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Project Rebirth
* *Unites States Armed Forces *White House *US Department of Defense|purpose = Preserve a section of American society in the hopes of re-population of and continuing the United States in event of a massive catastrophe|locations = Numerous Project Rebirth facilities across the US *The Bunker *Atlantes Center Base|leader = Numerous throughout history *President of the United States|participants = *Charlie Lang *Tanwyn Angharad *Tyler Cheng}}Project Rebirth And Recolonize, known simply by most as Project Rebirth, is a classified US government program to ensure the continuity of government and American society in the aftermath of a major catastrophe, possibly nuclear or natural disaster, but most especially the possibility of a second Awakening Incident. History Project Rebirth was begun in the 1970s by the order of the Nixon administration, with the fear that potential nuclear war could destroy American civilization as society knew it. There was a desire to ensure that the government would be able to continue, and be able to organize survivors and retaliate against an aggressive power following a nuclear exchange. The Bunker, the first facility constructed, had a capacity of 7,500 people and was built in secrecy underneath Cedar Creek Lake in the American midwest. It was intended to house the Executive Branch of the American government as well as its military command when tensions with the Soviet Union boiled to an unacceptably dangerous point. At various points, the President of the United States sometimes occupied The Bunker instead of the White House. An additional fallout shelter was constructed in Washington D.C. but would not be finished until after the turn of the century. Awakening Incident In 1985, the Awakening Incident happened. The incident was unexpected and completely caught the world off guard, and the Bunker served an unexpected but completely welcome and helpful purpose: shielding the American government and command structure from the wrath of metahumans, who had laid waste to Washington D.C. Throughout the war against metahumans and for much of the Reconstruction period until 1992, the Bunker remained the seat of American government until Washington D.C. was rebuilt. Though intended for another purpose, Project Rebirth had been a boon to America's ability to survive. Despite this, its previously classified status was now revealed to the public as The Bunker had become a major staging area and a secure command hub for the Resistance, a citizen paramilitary militia that would later go on to become the United Liberators Coalition. As relations with the Soviet Union greatly warmed following the alliance with the communist state during the Awakening, its usefulness and Project Rebirth's purpose shifted from surviving nuclear conflict to then surviving the very real possibility of another devastating metahuman uprising. Officially, with the Cold War over and the nuclear scare diminished to almost nothing, the public was informed that there would never be another Awakening Incident, and America would not need shelters again, with the darkness now behind them. Secretly, however, the US government and subsequent administrations were paranoid and were hesitant to share the faith they hoped their citizens would have in them. Though publicly shut down, Project Rebirth received increased funding as the decades passed and the 2000s arrived. Though the world recovered and rebuilt its cities, America was cautiously also preparing for another doomsday. Modern day As of 2029, Project Rebirth is classified and hidden from the public, but its facilities remain and are maintained to prepare for the possibility of catastrophe. All told, its 75 facilities are able to hold an estimated 520,000 people assuming all are filled to capacity, though realistically given the short notice in which Project Rebirth can be activated and responders can evacuate civilians, it is capable of only saving half that. That said, there are numerous, plenty of other underground facilities throughout America that are not intended as doomsday shelters that may be able to save a significant amount of people, but unlike Project Rebirth these facilities are not necessarily guaranteed to to protect their inhabitants completely or provide support for rebuilding society. There are approximately 75 Project Rebirth facilities throughout the contiguous United States, including the original Bunker, which still retains its emergency shelter and continuity of government features in addition to its modern role as an actively used command center for the ULC. * Of these, 50 are operated by the United Liberators Coalition, while 25 are operated by the Department of Defense and are attached to and administered by military bases. * Each facility varies in how many it can shelter, ranging from 500 to the smaller facilities to about 10,000 with the largest ones that include The Bunker. The one feature they all have in common is the ability to sustain those populations for up to 15 years independently in a closed system, and up to 100 years or even more assuming outside input and no system failures. 2029 In 2029, during the 2029 Union City terror incident, the Project Rebirth facility at Sublevel 10 in Atlantes Center Base was activated by the installation commander upon the threat level of Voltage reaching Alpha. With the United States scrambling a nuclear capable bomber to neutralize the metahuman and sacrifice Union City, the facility was opened in an attempt to at least save some of the populace. With Voltage ultimately defeated by Adam Creel resulting in the nuclear strike being called off, the facility was actually not used, and de-activated following confirmation of Voltage's death. No one had set foot inside it. Later in the year as the Korean War boiled to a head, Project Rebirth experienced a partial activation in Wyoming, Montana, Washington, and California. Despite an ongoing nuclear exchange, the protocol was not fully activated due to only a limited amount of nuclear warheads actually reaching United States soil, thus in the opinion of centralized command not warranting the declassification and reveal of the existence of the entire system; by this point, one nuclear warhead had been intercepted, one missing its target, and one destroying a command center in Oregon. In spite of this, several West Coast facilities did independently initiate protocol, but once again ultimately did not need to. The exchange ended by the time first civilians were being evacuated. There was no Rebirth facility located in Oregon near the detonation site. Atlantes Center's facility was forbidden from being activated, with the installation instead receiving standing orders to report to the Bunker for a counteroffensive against possible North Korean metahumans. In the aftermath, internal criticism and dissent boiled within ULC for not activating the call code SUNSET on the western seaboard, which could have potentially saved lives if the nuclear warhead hit Union Falls instead of rural, uninhabited Montana (its final destination was unclear at the time) or if the warhead aimed for Washington wasn't luckily intercepted as it was. The governmental department justified its decision that protecting the greater American populace was the higher priority, and to sacrifice the integrity of the entire system for the well being of a mere fraction of its projected lives that could be saved was critically misunderstanding its purpose. To this date, Project Rebirth still remains classified, and the civilians that had been evacuated to its facilities were led to believe that the shelters they had entered were not part of a larger, more extensive network. Organization and Protocol In order to maximize the amount of people saved, almost all facilities are located near or within major population centers. Several facilities utilize Cold-War era complexes, but new ones have been built throughout the decades. Initiation Protocol In the event of nuclear catastrophe or disaster, the following protocols are to be observed. * Receipt of signal: In the event Project Rebirth sends out the emergency call (code-named 'SUNSET') signal, all facilities are to activate at once upon receiving it. Through secured channels and devices, ULC agents Clearance Level 6 and above will receive instructions ordering them to begin activation protocol, while those Clearance Level 5 and below receive coordinates via GPS system directing them to the nearest Project Rebirth facility. ** This order can come from the Director of the United Liberators Coalition, ULC Unified Command, the Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, or the President of the United States. ** In the event the US government is destroyed in any way and communication is lost, SUNSET activates. ** In the event the United States's DEFCON level reaches DEFCON 1, SUNSET will activate. ** In the event the ULC headquarters is destroyed in any way, without a secondary facility assuming control and overriding the signal before it can be set, SUNSET will activate. * Independent activation: At the installation commander or chapter commanding officers' discretion, Project Rebirth can be activated independently at their facility. This is to be used in regional emergencies that are catastrophic for a limited area of the United States but not nationwide, resulting in widespread devastation in one region but the rest of the country remaining untouched. ** An example of arguably proper usage was the activation of the Atlantes Center facility when a nuclear mission was authorized to target Union Falls in an attempt to eliminate Voltage. * Evacuation and sequestering of civilians: Due to most Rebirth facilities having more space than just for the inhabitants of the installation they are attached to, lockdown protocol states that all personnel are to evacuate nearby civilians immediately to save them, and escort them to the facility. The civilians saved is recommended to be by a first-come-first-serve basis, but the installation commander may use discretion such as a lottery system instead to maximize fairness if there is enough time. ** Priority placement: ULC agents, certain types of scientists, military personnel and other priority government entity individuals will take priority over standard civilians for admission into the shelter. Despite most shelters being designed to primarily safeguard civilians, all facilities are ordered to make room for extra members of these groups first, as they are considered, with their expertise and training, to be the most suitable and critical candidates for remaining organized during the catastrophe and having the most contribution to rebuilding society and restoring government in the aftermath due to their skills and discipline. ** Metahumans can be barred from entering the facility at the base command's personal discretion. Doors sealed * Lockdown: After the facility is populated to its maximum capacity or outside conditions become too dangerous to keep the doors open any longer, the entrances are sealed with airtight, meter-thick pressure doors that are designed to be closed long term. The facility's independent life support systems can be engaged at this point, if outside supplies are now unavailable. If running on its own legs, all facilities are guaranteed to be able to last at least 15 years in this state. * Contact with Rebirth network: After lockdown, installation command is to attempt to contact other facilities in the network to ascertain their status. If their communications equipment is inoperable or no response received, the facility is to assume that they are the only surviving shelter, and act accordingly: preservation of human life is the utmost priority, as is keeping the facility running for as long as possible. * Isolation: In this state, the facility will take care of itself and its inhabitants for around 15 to 50 years if contact is not made, and until the facility receives the all-clear signal if contact is reestablished. It is equipped with sensors and probes to analyze surface conditions in order to determine if it is safe to attempt surface recolonization. In the meantime, life in the facility will be strictly regimented, with education focused on the sciences and industrial production, in preparation for recolonization as what may be America's last spark to reignite its flame. This state is known simply as NIGHT. ** All waste is incinerated, both biological and un-recyclable trash. Solid waste from inhabitants repurposed as fertilizer to aid hydroponics. ** Facility systems, especially in newer installations, will tend to be highly automated to allow residents to focus on research and preparations for rebuilding. Dedicated maintenance personnel will be assigned to ensure knowledge of how to repair and service these systems will still remain in event of automatic control system failure. ** All facilities equipped with extensive library containing fiction and non-fiction for educational and entertainment purposes, for training and morale. All clear * Receipt of signal: '''If contact with the communication network or a legitimate, functional government entity is established, the facility may receive an all-clear signal, appropriately code-named SUNRISE to inform them that it is safe to return to the surface and begin recolonization. SUNRISE will in all cases automatically enable the door system control protocols, allowing the residents of any level to open the entrances. * '''Independent activation: The installation commander may open his or her facility at their own discretion if contact cannot be established, or for some other reason such as a systems failure that would force the facility to be evacuated and recolonization to begin. Only personnel with Clearance Level 6 or above are permitted to activate the door protocols. If a Level 6 individual dies or is incapacitated, the facility computer will automatically assign that level to the next person in line of succession. * Return to surface: Upon return to surface, the inhabitants of the facility will receive further instructions from a hopefully continued and still operational government or other authority on how to proceed, the best case scenario that the United States government and other Rebirth installations have survived. In the event that contact cannot be made, the facility commander is the highest authority in the known land, and is burdened with the task of directing his or her charges to rebuild civilization the best they can, using the facility's data banks and resources. ** Terraforming: Most facilities are equipped with a magitek terraforming system capable of neutralizing radiation and enriching soil as long as at least a handful of them are wizards. Facilities that expect higher populations of wizards will be given an even wider array of magitek tools to help re-colonization and fabrication of new materials and technology. ** Continued use of facility: If necessary, the facility itself is designed to continue to function as a home base for up to a century or more, provided that outside resources are inputted and maintenance regiments are obeyed closely. To date, only a single Rebirth facility has followed or even attempted to initiate these protocols, that facility being The Bunker. In 1985, SUNSET was broadcasted to the only Rebirth facility in existence at the time, and lockdown procedure was followed to the letter. However during the middle of the war against metahumans, as the Resistance gained ground and began to liberate America, and the United States government stabilized and began to mount a serious counteroffensive, The Bunker was opened early in order to act as a staging area and command outpost in which supplies and troops could be moved through. After America was retaken and the war won, the Department of Defense forgot to broadcast SUNRISE, and neglected to do so for decades. Technically, the facility is still in NIGHT status, despite being completely opened and active as a modern ULC headquarters and installation. Many view this as a political commentary on the ULC and its supposedly never-ending war on metahumanism. Category:Projects Category:Secret protocols